Election campaigns are like a hybrid traveling circus crossed with religious pilgrimage. Chock-full of stunts for the camera, selling the virtues of one’s flavour of politics. But instead of promising salvation for sharing one's support, electorates are showered with promises of new sports fields, parking lots, and a plethora of other cash injections and tax deductions.

Instead of a preacher man or ringmaster, it’s a salesman.

Prior to each event, teams of media-savvy party men and women have spent hours curating photo opportunities, vetting workplaces for dissenters or smartarses, days before the salesman and the traveling media pack arrive. There’s rarely a glimpse of the salesman outside of showtime. His convoy of advisers and security detail arrive in brand-new cars, whereby the salesman exits within metres of the lucky business, retirement village, sporting field or place of worship. Any chances of interaction with the unvetted are removed leaving the salesman to make his pitch to those already sold.

But when the circus came to an end, the ringmaster, the salesman, became the one seeking salvation.

All photographs made during the 2022 Australian Federal Election covering the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's bid for re-election